BETTING BY WIRE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 871, 15 January 1930, Page 8

BETTING BY WIRE

Sir. —- The anonymous magistrate, who contributes his opinion to the interesting controversy raised in The Sun, on “Should Bookmakers Be Legalised?” touched a live wire when he suggested that telegraphic betting should be allowed, with a restriction on the amount. When will the puritanminded Parliamentarians realise that a substantial portion of the revenue in each town, in Which there is a telegraphic office, is contributed by wires sent to bookmakers, particularly in the city centres? Some of the messages are cleverly disguised and the addresses concealed, but the wire reaches them safely, while other wires are sent in the most crude fashion, despite the so-called censorship. What telegraph officer does not know of the smart camouflages used to conceal the

real import of the wires? I saw one the other day. On its face it looked to be an innocent list of the names of months, followed by dates in disjointed succession. To the bookmaker it represented the laying off of several hundred pounds. The first letter of each month represented the horse’s name and the dates the amount of the bets. It is so silly, too, to prevent the telegraphing of dividends. The information is transmitted in the same way, despite the hawk-eyed vigilance of the inspectors. The magisterial suggestion that racing club agents in every town should act in conjunction with the telegraph offices in sending bets by wire is a commendable example of frankness, and, if adopted, would enable the department to earn much additional revenue to that which it now receives by its own “blindness.” IMA BETTOR, J